Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a betting system based on lottery-like drawing of numbers. More particularly it is directed to a fixed odds lottery gaming system and method having a mechanical or random number generation device whose features are to be more fully described.
Description of the Prior Art
Lottery games can be traced all the way back to 200 B.C. in the kingdoms of China. Amongst the games that originated at that time is Keno and even to this very day players can indulge in this game. Students of the era believe that this game originated in that Far East country and maintains its appeal because of its addictive quality. It must have been very captivating since it is believed by competent researchers that the Great Wall of China was financed with this game.
Other groups, tribes and nations similarly found sport in lottery-like games. Amongst these are the Celts and the Greeks who left references to lotteries and ‘drawing lots.’ In the European continent the first known lottery occurred during the Roman Empire. At first these lotteries were usually conducted as a form of amusement at dinner parties for the nobility. Later during the reign of Augustus Caesar, lotteries became mechanisms of taxation. For example, there are records of the sale of lottery tickets in order to raise funds for repairs to the City of Rome. However, winners were given prizes in the form of articles of disparate value.
As time progressed local officials observed that money could easily be made from this game. It is believed that the first official record of a public lottery occurred in Holland in the 15th century. Later, the first lotteries with prizes in the form of money began to appear in numerous towns in Flanders (present day Belgium, Holland, and France). These first lotteries awarding monetary prizes and were held to raise money to aid the poor and fund fortifications of the towns. They were hailed as a less painful form of taxation and were quite popular among the people.
In the modern era, lotteries are a popular type of gambling most often run by governments and in the USA local states have been in the forefront of the lottery craze inviting tens of millions of their citizens to go for the big prize. Typically, the betting consists of drawing lots that follow certain rules whereby a winner(s) is chosen in a following those rules and a prize is awarded on a specific day.
Lotteries are available in many types of formats and state lotteries are subject to the varying laws of the states that govern them. Prizes in basic lotteries can be fixed cash sums, fixed percentage of the amount of money raised through ticket sales or goods. More modern lotteries allow ticket purchasers to choose their own numbers there opening up the possibility of multiple winners which can result in prize sharing.
Even though the above cited lottery systems of the prior art address some of the needs of the market, a new and improved lottery system is still desired.